Some tips before someone pushes your buttons

Last week I wrote about a dispute involving Jan Flato, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and Flato’s former friend, Marina Medvedeva Navarro. Flato claims he provided money to Navarro, who pushed the button on a slot machine to win a $100,000 slot jackpot. (Navarro saysshe fed the machine her own cash.)

Here are some lessons to be learned:

If you’re providing gambling money to someone else, spell out the rules beforehand. There’s nothing wrong with saying, “Here’s $100 to play with. If you lose it, fine. If you win, we split it.” And have a plan for who will be responsible for taxes, which come into play if the jackpot is $1,200 or higher.

Slots operate via pseudo random number generators. The machines have a constantly churning computer, which spits out a set of random numbers. (Well, a computer program generates the numbers, so you can dispute the term “random.”) The symbols you see on your screen merely are representations of a string of numbers. So if you hit a button a nanosecond sooner or later, it does affect the outcome. That means people who say “that jackpot was about to hit” or “that machine was due” are fallacious.

Money can make people crazy. Enough said.

WPT winners

Four local players had memorable runs during the World Poker Tour/Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, a series of 31 events that concluded Sunday.

Jason Mercier of Fort Lauderdale, who has been ranked No. 1 in the world, won $794,600 in the WPT’s High Roller event. Entry cost was $25,500 and Mercier prevailed among 116 players.

Darryll Fish of Fort Lauderdale finished second in the $3,500 buy-in Showdown Championship. He earned $453,185. There were 1,207 entries. Fish was supported by friends who bought $6 “fish hats” at Party City. South Florida native Robert Mizrachi finished third, winning $293,864.

Mizrachi’s brother, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, one of the winningest players of all time, finished second in the WPT Tournament of Champions, restricted to only those who have won a WPT main event. The tournament drew 66 and Mizrachi received $218,000.

The $3,500 event guaranteed $2 million in prize money, but there were so many entries the prize pool surpassed $3.8 million.

The event wrapped up the seventh year the WPT has stopped at the Seminole Hard Rock. The event has evolved to include the Tournament of Champions the past two years, and interest has continually grown, said William Mason, director of poker at the Seminole Hard Rock.

“For us it at the beginning, it was an opportunity to expose our poker room to the world,” Mason said. “The partnership has grown over the last seven years to where it’s a true partnership. We help each other out we do what’s best for each other’s brand.”

Coming up

▪ Raul Acosta, known as “El Presidente del Merengue,” leads the band Oro Solido in a free concert at 9 p.m. Saturday at Magic City Casino. Food trucks will be on the property from 5-10 p.m.

▪ Miccosukee Resort & Gaming gives away a new Infinity Friday night. Those who prefer cash can take $25,000.

▪ Main Street, a classic rock cover band, plays for free at 9 p.m. Friday at Casino Miami. The band’s playlist includes music from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and Journey.

▪ With most schools on spring break this week, it’s time to remind folks that Fridays are Teachers’ Days at Calder Casino. Patrons with valid school ID receive $10 in free slot play with 20 points earned that day to qualify.

▪ Gulfstream Park has an Easter festival for children from 6-9 p.m. Friday. The Easter Bunny, face painting, a DJ and face painting will be at Champions Plaza.

▪ Hialeah Park is giving away free slot play on Thursdays in April. Pink Card players who accrue one slot point gets $5 in free play. It’s $10 for Silver card members and $20 for Black cards.

▪ The Casino @ Dania Beach has a new schedule for its Instant Win promotion. Giveaways are now hourly from noon to 4 p.m. Mondays and Fridays and hourly from 3-7 p.m. on Wednesdays. Free play raffles are every two hours from 1-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursday.

▪ The Isle Casino in Pompano Beach marks its 10th year with … we don’t know. A mysterious box will be opened at 11 p.m. Saturday. Fireworks begin at approximately 8:15 p.m. Five patrons will be picked every every 30 minutes from noon – 10:30 p.m. for a chance to win $10,000 free play. And at 11 p.m. 10 people will be winners when the box is unlocked.